Tricks of the Bunker Trade: Singapore Cappuccino Bunker Incident Report [Pictures]

by Kaivan H. Chinoy, Petro Inspect / The Bunker Detectives
Monday November 17, 2014

Cappuccino effect remains still one of the most common and widely used malpractices in the bunkering industry to-date.

Despite lots of articles and loss prevention bulletins being issued by various P&I Clubs, we are still seeing a lot of vessel's falling victim to this ill-practice.

This report comes from a Cappuccino Bunker incident that was discovered last month by the Bunker Detectives in Singapore.

The Incident

During a routine stem survey last month in Singapore for one of our clients, a malpractice involving Cappuccino Bunkers was detected and immediate steps taken to mitigate any losses.

The fuel grade being delivered was MFO 380 cSt, with the delivery taking place at Singapore Anchorage.

On October 17, 2014 approximately 6 hours into bunkering, bubbles/froth were detected on the sounding tape.

The bunkering operation was immediately suspended and the vessel and barge remained idle for about 9 hours awaiting the suspected froth/bubbles (entrained air) to settle down.

Once the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer, measurement of the actual quantity received onboard was noted and the same reflected in the ullage report.

Had this malpractice not being detected the client would have suffered an approximate monetary loss of USD $36,000 and perhaps even more if the full nominated quantity of bunkers would have been delivered.

The name of the supplier, client, vessel, and barge were of all noted but they have been intentionally withheld in this incident report.

Bunker Detective clients have already been contacted regarding this matter, but non-clients wishing to discuss the matter further can contact the Bunker Detectives at surveys@bunkerdetective.com for more information.

About Petro Inspect and The Bunker Detectives

Bunker Detectives

Petro Inspect, previous known only as The Bunker Detectives, are a dedicated team who primarily help ship charterers' & bunker brokers deal with bunker quantity disputes (which do not fall under P&I cover for charterers'), and also offer an exclusive service to ship charterers' dealing with 'Bad' Bunker dispute claims, such as the supply of contaminated or off- specification bunkers.

The core services provided under the banner of 'Bunker Detective' are 221B Surveys (aka Bunker Detective Surveys), Bunker Stem Surveys (aka Bunker Quantity Surveys - BQS) and Charter On/Off Hire and Condition Surveys, as well as a bunker fuel concealment detection services.

About Kaivan H. Chinoy

A qualified Mercantile Marine Officer with an MSc Degree in "Technical Management of Ship Operations," prior to founding AVA Marine Kaivan spent over 15 years involved in extensive marine operations including vessel navigation, cargo handling, accident investigations, project cargo risk management, and marine cargo surveying.

To contact the editor responsible for this story email us at editor@shipandbunker.com